Would You Look at the Time
by Suffering Angel
Summary: Sometimes, even the most obvious, mundane things are beyond us. She had forgotten what toddlers are to learn; it is up to him to teach her.


I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Well… another Rion, what do you know. Lawl.

* * *

_**Would You Look at the Time**_

It was yet another breath-taking sunset that painted both the sky and the peaceful town in deep shades of gold and red. The massive orb of light calmly proceeded in its descent further beyond the horizon, and yet forever more it was denied arriving at its destination. Thus was the nature of the world called Twilight Town.

"No wonder they have such a large clock tower" a girl of about fifteen hummed to herself from her spot atop said clock-tower, her lags dangling off the edge as she looked back at the massive hands as they pointed here and there. "You really can't tell the time otherwise."

The frown on her face, however, betrayed another truth, one she wasn't quite willing to accept.

"Ah... no, go... go in the other direction..." She pleaded in distress as the minute hand shifted again, pulling farther away from the short hour hand before staying still for the remaining fifty seven seconds.

"_Move_!" The girl exclaimed, her gloved fists hitting her thighs angrily. Needless to say - it helped not.

"...stupid clock." She muttered and resumed nibbling on her half eaten, half melted sea-salt ice cream. "How do people manage to understand them?!"

"It's pretty simple, actually," came a rather teasing voice, making the girl tense lightly before she turned to face the speaker. "But, I suppose it would be easier if you looked at it from afar, with a clock this big..."

Somehow, she knew she'd run into him sooner or later. He always ended up where she was whether she liked it or not. Always towering above her, always looking down at her in a way which made her believe should've made her warm inside... never once letting her get a good look into his eyes.

"Riku..." she breathed softly as the teen approached her, his silver hair waving behind him as did the edges of his black blindfold.

"Xion." He acknowledged as he came to stand by her on the side of the tower facing the sun. " 'R and R'ing again?" He asked with a touch of a fond smile to his voice, making her turn to stare at the rapidly melting treat in her hand. Her lips pursed into a thin line before she allowed herself to pout.

"I'm waiting for someone."

Which meant his time there was limited; figures. Oh well, he had places to be at afterwards. Didn't mean he couldn't enjoy that stop along the way though, right?

"Is that why you were looking at the clock?"

Her pout deepened. "Yes. I still have a while to wait though." She half huffed over a mouthful of ice cream before blinking up at him. "Come to think about it... what are _you_ doing here, Riku?"

He gazed at her with hidden eyes, yet she could feel the intensity of his stare as he looked down at her. It lasted for several more seconds, the silence, making an awkward blush finally rise to the girl's cheeks.

"Wha, what, something on my-"

She fell silent, however, when he knelt down next to her and edged closer, making her face burn hotter.

"Ah-"

Her voice died down as he reached a gloved hand to her own, only to catch a salty-sweet drop that threatened to slide off her hand.

"Your ice cream's melting." The teen concluded as he sat down next to her and relished her slight distraught tantrum. It was amusingly endearing, he reckoned until those blue eyes were once again gazing at him over her seemingly futile attempts to lick her glove clean.

"...what?"

"You didn't..." She paused to suck more excessive liquids from the popsicle. "...answer my question."

The silence this time didn't last as long.

"It's melting again." He warned and turned to watch the sunset while she struggled to finish the treat. His conclusion upon licking the moist trail off his own glove ended up being that he'd never understand how people ate those things.

Decided; he'd ask... once the girl's mouth was no longer busy.

~*~

Several minutes had passed in silence as Xion all but struggled to finish her popsicle. What was normally a simple task had proved to be all but impossible as the girl constantly looked up at the clock.

Riku found the would-be ritual all but intriguing. "Are they running late?" Obviously a good thing for him. The frown on his companion's face, however, made him blink.

"I don't think so..."

Another hidden blink. "You don't _think_ so? What time did you set to meet?"

"Six o'clock...?" She whispered as though fearfully as he turned to look up at the clock. She was displeased in the manner in which his eyebrows shot up from behind that blindfold.

"Six... o'clock?" He asked in disbelief as he glanced at her, and then back at the massive clock. The process repeated several times, but the end came before too long. She could stand him gawking; Riku actually pulling up his blindfold to make sure he saw right through it was more than she could bear.

"What?!" She half exclaimed, cheeks all but burning. Teal eyes returned to examine the hands yet again; the time was roughly fifteen minutes to six.

"For the record... when did you get here?" He asked softly and watched her face intently as she studied the clock again.

"The big hand... was really close to the six mark..."

"And the smaller hand?"

She winced as though aware she was doing something wrong. What it was, however, she knew not.

"The small hand was..." She had to gulp. "Between..."

"Between...?" He edged on, yet nothing could've prepared him for the answer; _nothing_.

"Between... the two and the three..."

He could only stare in silence. She on her part attempted to defend herself rather valiantly.

"I, it's not my fault the long hand kept on going! If it would've just waited for the shorter one to catch up..."

The silence continued, and she could swear his one eye - now visible - widened still.

"Lo, look! It did it now too!" She accused and pointed with the popsicle stick at the clock. "The slow, short hand was so close to the six mark, but the longer hand ran away again! It's running away!"

Finally - he spoke.

"You don't know how to read the time."

His exclamation, seemingly blunt yet honest and would be harmless, was enough to almost bring tears to her eyes as she reached to angrily pull the blindfold back over his.

"I can't know things I don't remember!"

There was very little room for words after that, nor could he bring himself to try and come up with any; he knew he'd come up short. All that was left for him to do then was to reach for her hands and carefully pull them away from his blindfold.

He knew not what struck him more, how tiny her hands seemed in his, or how badly she was shivering.

So it bothered her this much... even though he shouldn't have expected any less. One without Memories, after all, was essentially one without a Self, even the remains of one.

"...would you... like me to teach you?" Riku finally asked when he thought it would be appropriate, yet it came as no surprise when his words fell on deft ears. He knew despite her short bangs falling over her eyes that they were shut tightly, and it simply happened sooner rather than later that she leaned forward, ending up with her forehead resting against his chest.

His hands were too busy still holding onto the girl's own.

"I don't... know..." She all but whined softly, making him bite onto his lower lip as he dared not even breathe.

"I just... don't know..."

And neither did he, a fact which left him with no choice but to let her remain where she was, with the single exception of lowering his face until it all but buried in her hair, carrying the distant scent of blueberries.

~*~

"Really, Axel, that was totally overkill." Roxas huffed as he climbed the stairs leading to the top of the clock tower, his features indicating his obvious state of exhaustion from that day's mission.

"Aw, c'mon, Roxas, I was saving your ass and you **know** it!" Axel argued back with one hand on his hip.

"The only thing I know now is that we're **late** so we don't get any ice cream." The blonde concluded as he walked outside onto the small platform where their third companion was sitting. He was alerted instantly to the distant look in her eyes and the somewhat odd red hue of her nose.

And then she sniffled.

"...Xion?" Roxas asked worriedly, making Axel quirk a brow at her from behind the shorter boy.

Xion looked up at the two and then up at the clock. The hour hand had just passed the six mark; the minute hand was between the 2 and the 3. A tiny smile managed to rise to her lips as she pocketed the popsicle stick, carrying with it another WINNER mark.

"You're late."

-----------------------

Har har, yeah, betcha you didn't think this thing'd actually have a **point**, did you?!


End file.
